PREVAILING WAGE BILL ON GOVERNOR’S DESK

Sacramento 
Reacting to a state Supreme Court win by the city of Vista, lawmakers have sent Gov. Jerry Brown a measure that would force charter cities to choose between paying contractors higher prevailing wages on public works projects or lose state construction dollars.

If signed into law, the legislation would have sweeping consequences for half-dozen cities in San Diego County: Vista, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos and Santee. San Diego is a charter city but earlier this year the City Council voted to pay prevailing wages for public works jobs.

The prevailing wage must generally reflect prevalent pay in a region. Because public works contracts mostly involve unions, the amount tends to be closer to union scale.

The bill is an outgrowth of a landmark a 2012 state Supreme Court ruling that upheld Vista’s policy of not requiring contractors to pay workers the prevailing wage.

Under current law, most cities must pay prevailing wages on projects. However, charter cities, which have more independence from state requirements through voter-approved charters, are exempt from paying prevailing wage if they only use local dollars and no funding from the state.

The bill does not explicitly require charter cities to pay higher wages — that would conflict with the Vista ruling. Instead, the proposed law would deny all state construction funds for any future project after Jan. 1, 2015, if charter cities resist prevailing wages regardless of the revenue source.

Vista and its allies argue prevailing wages drive up costs to taxpayers and violate local control. Backers of the legislation say it helps workers earn a livable wage, guarantees the best professionals are on the job and helps provide apprenticeship training.